Ruth Newberry
Biography
In August of 2000, I joined the Computing and Technology Services department at Duquesne University as an Educational Computing Consultant after having taught for 8 years in an award winning, accelerated Bachelors degree program for working adults. During my teaching years, I received two teaching awards, was an early adopter of technology in f2f and online teaching, the creator/administrator of an online writing & learning resource center for students and faculty, and assisted faculty colleagues with pedagogical use of technology in their teaching. From 2000 - 2003, I moved from teaching to central IT and educational technology, where I developed training materials and workshops for faculty and staff use of Blackboard and WebCT and assisted campus faculty with incorporating technology into their teaching. From 2003 to 2012, I was Duquesne's Director of Educational Technology and led two teams: one charged with supporting the Blackboard system and assisting faculty and departments with integrating learning technologies in the physical and online classrooms and another team involved in classroom technology, video streaming, and classroom design. As Director, my staff and I helped Duquesne move from 20% to 90% of all classrooms fully technology equipped; developed a classroom budget sustainability plan for classroom equipment replacement and new technologies; and worked with the Registrar's committee to effectively support classroom technology use. During this time, my Blackboard support and instructional staff grew Blackboard adoption to 85% of all courses through voluntarily use Blackboard and required instructor training, and we implemented a robust course request integrated with Banner, Starfish Retention Solutions for advisors, online teaching evaluations for f2f and online courses, and successfully moved Blackboard from self to managed hosting and version 7 to 9.1 in 2011. As Director, Educational Technology, my goals were to maximize effective use of technology in teaching, develop a university educational technology strategic plan, and improve technology decision making processes through work with Deans and the University Technology Committee. From November 2012 to the 2014, I was Duquesne's Director, Online Campus and worked closely with Enrollment Management Group, Deans, Chairs, and Student Support units to develop quality online programs, student support and retention process, faculty support, and institutional processes to ensure Duquesne's success in online education. In 2014, I joined Blackboard's Educational Services Consulting group and now consult on institutional program assessment and student learning outcomes, strategic and integrated technology adoption, and faculty development to help institutions meet educational effectiveness goals. I have presented at Sloan-C, Educause, Educause Connect, Syllabus, Blackboard, CCCC, and other national and regional conferences as well as hosted two Learning Technology conferences at Duquesne. I hold a PhD in American Literature, belong to many university level committees, and really enjoy collaborating with Deans and working with faculty to help them help their students achieve learning outcomes.EDUCAUSE Presentations
Memberships
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EDUCAUSE Involvement
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